Restrictions and prohibitions as tools in regulatory toxicology

Abstract

Restrictions and prohibitions or the assessment of prescriptive limits are the appropriate measures to save men and environment from reversible or irreversible hazards. They are based on conventions, regulatory decisions, or normative conventions. Risk management by the authorities is subject to constitutional principles. Focused on the chemicals in environment and industrial processes, the REACH regulation plays a key role in occupational health as well as in poisoning prevention. The hazardous potential of long-acting toxicants ranges over next generation(s) (developmental toxicology). Along the food chain, the consumers are implicated in the incorporation of contaminants, additives, and supplements. The Drug Law represents the strictest legislative directives protecting the consumer in its exceptional situation as a patient. Regulations by the EMA and international harmonization guidelines should protect the individuals confronted with special drugs, combined side-effects, and possible residues from veterinary medical substances. A particular paragraph is dedicated to the prohibition of doping. This chapter provides examples for restrictions and prohibitions as regulatory tools in different application fields. Taking Germany as an example, it also shows how international directives are harmonized with national law.